this is your brain on drugs

Scientists have been able to identify regions of the brain that house personality, emotion, behavior and thinking. In addition, we also know what parts of the brain control movement and other functions. There are specific brain regions that control your hands, your legs, etc. There are certain areas that when disrupted can lead to changes in mood, behavior and thinking. For example, the visual cortex sits in the back of the brain and an injury can lead to various forms of blindness.

We have also found areas of the brain that regulate reward. That means that the brain can seek out things that will make it feel good, whether it is a natural reward (being with someone you love, getting a good grade, being with your family or friends) or drug-induced rewards. The reward center is technically called the nucleus accumbens and is actually the target for all drugs of abuse. This is very important to understand as every drug that you take into your body gets into your brain and turns on these reward circuits, and changes them. This is the heart of the problem with drugs of abuse and even behavioral addictions like gambling.  Click on picture below to view the whole slide